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Record Speaker Line-Up for lunch! 2019, as Major Food-to-Go Operators Confirm Attendance

Record Speaker Line-Up for lunch! 2019, as Major Food-to-Go Operators Confirm Attendance
Written by Amy

It’s official – lunch! 2019 will feature its biggest ever Keynote line-up.  With new names confirmed from Starbucks, Greggs, Holland & Barrett, FCB Coffee, Sodexo, Elior, LEON, Crussh, Tortilla, Chilango, Pure, Sourced Market, and KERB, there are now 55 speakers (and rising) looking forward to sharing exclusive insights at the UK’s biggest food-to-go trade show next month, on 19-20 September, at ExCeL London.

The high-profile (and completely free), business-focused seminar programme, running across three theatres over two days, will also include big high street chains – Pret A Manger, Caffù Nero and Costa Coffee, together with leading London food-to-go operators – GAIL’s Bakery’s, Press Coffee & Co, and The Gentleman Baristas, plus international brands – Wayne’s Coffee, from Sweden, and Ole and Steen (trading as Lagkagehuset in Denmark).

For this year’s visitors it’s a rare opportunity to hear from some of the UK’s most inspirational and influential food-to-go professionals from across the cafĂ©, coffee shop, convenience and foodservice sectors, talking about the big opportunities, innovations, and trends ahead.

Highlights include:

  • Tara Gee, director of food safety, quality & regulatory (EMEA) at Starbucks – discusses the importance of putting food safety at the top of everyone’s agenda in this important opening day session (2.30pm, 19 Sept).
  • Barny Clevely, MD of FCB Coffee – arrive early to grab a front row seat, as he talks to Anya Marco about the rise of FCB and their unique place in the food-to-go and coffee shop sector (1.30pm, 20 Sept).
  • Maurice Abboudi, executive director at Japanese restaurant and takeaway chain K10 (and investor on the BBC’s My Million Pound Menu) – joins Jonathan Jowett (Greggs) and Peter Mayley (La Baguetterie) to address some of the biggest issues challenging the industry.  This illustrious panel, led by Jim Winship from the British Sandwich & Food to Go Association, will tackle everything from allergy labelling and listeria, to training, staffing and Brexit (3.15pm, 19 Sept).
  • Scott Macdonald, MD of Sourced Market – the former MD of Bills shares what’s next for the artisan deli, retail and dining brand.  He’ll be talking about their expansion plans, outlining some of the ‘much needed’ changes the business has already made and what’s yet to come (2.15pm, 20 Sept).
  • Nicola Morris, MD of corporate services at Sodexo – explores the trends behind the food tribes (#vegan, #fitspo and #coffeelover, for example) and explains how they’re using consumer insights to drive innovation and stay ahead of the competition (1.45pm, 20 Sept).
  • FĂĄtima Diez, one of The Drum’s Future 50 Marketers and former marketing lead for Five Guys in Western Europe – joins this year’s Supersonic Food Marketing Podcast.  Hosted by Mark McCulloch, the trio of panellists is completed by Rebecca Di Mambro, head of marketing at LEON, and Helen Harrison, brand director at Crussh – Fit Food & Juice Bars (11.15am, 19 Sept).
  • James Kidman, head of food at Crussh – as the healthy food and juice bar chain continues to grow rapidly outside of its traditional high street model (in gyms, healthcare and universities etc), find out how they’re adapting their NPD to fit new audiences.  The show’s stellar ‘Head of Food panel’ also includes: Tortilla’s Martyn Clover, pod food’s Aggie Morrell, pure’s Geoffrey Hunter, Holland & Barrett’s Ian Chant, and (session chair) chef Jay Morjaria (3.45pm, 19 Sept).
  • Holland & Barrett’s head of food Ian Chant and category manager Louise Broom – offer retail insights and share lessons learnt from their new, affordable, vegan and veggie lunch-to-go range.  Currently being trialled at six London stores, further rollout is expected (2.15pm, 19 Sept).
  • Edward Bentley, co-founder & co-CEO of Pure – chats about his experiences helping to build one of London’s leading multi-site food-to-go brands in this exclusive interview, hosted by lunch!’s Chris Brazier (12.45pm, 20 Sept).
  • Natasha Wilmans, UK operations director at Ole and Steen – discusses the all-day Danish bakery chain’s big plans for the UK in the show’s ‘Operations Director panel’, which will also feature LEON’s Shereen Ritchie, Tortilla’s Matt Chapman, and Chilango’s Richard Franks (2.45pm, 19 Sept).
  • Simon Mitchell, CEO of street food collective KERB – gives his take on the latest trends and concepts hitting the street food scene.  He’ll be appearing in lunch!’s first ever ‘Street Food’ panel, alongside traders Biff Burrows, director at Biff’s Jack Shack; Kristian Katin, director of Feed Wagons; Monem Mansour, director of Cairovan; and (session chair) chef Jay Morjaria (2.45pm, 20 Sept).
  • Gareth Hiron, senior buyer at Elior – reveals his top tips for a creating successful relationship with suppliers in the show’s ‘Buying & Procurement’ panel (3.45pm, 20 Sept).
  • Marta Pogroszewska, MD of GAIL’s Bakery, is a big fan of lunch!, calling it ‘the best event in the industry’.  She’ll be taking part in an exclusive interview at the show, discussing the company’s success so far and its plans for the future (1.15pm, 20 Sept).
  • Will Stratton-Morris, CEO of CaffĂš Nero – lifts the lid on his incredible career, revealing what it takes to be CEO of a much-loved coffee shop brand in this rare Keynote interview.  Topics will include customer service and customer loyalty, Brexit, and his predictions for the market (10.30am, 19 Sept).
  • Hannah Squirrell, customer director at Greggs – charts the company’s food-to-go journey, exploring how the brand has stayed true to itself while broadening its appeal to attract new customers (10.45am, 20 Sept).
  • Essential market updates from FutureFoodservice.com (Simon Stenning), HIM & MCA Insights (Katherine Prowse), NPD Group & Springboard (Dominic Allport and Diane Wehrle), IGD (Gavin Rothwell), CGA (Fiona Speakman), and Kantar Worldpanel (Lucy Chapman).  Each will be offering their unique take on – and the latest stats from – the OOH market, focusing on food-to-go outlets, retailers and coffee shops.

Vital, inspiring, innovative, informative, exciting, diverse, fun, energetic and delicious – are just some of the words these speakers use to describe their industry show (find out more here: www.lunchshow.co.uk/speaker-qas).

“lunch! is a must-attend event every year for those looking to grow in food-to-go, and a fantastic opportunity to catch up with friends and contacts, old and new,” says Gavin Rothwell, head of food-to-go at IGD.

“lunch! inspires and connects the whole sector.  I truly think it’s the best event in the industry,” says Marta Pogroszewska, MD of GAIL’S Bakery.

Free trade registration
Over 7,000 industry buyers will attend lunch! at ExCeL London over 19-20 September.  This year’s compelling line-up includes: two action-packed days of business and networking, product launches, demos and tastings from 400 exhibitors, plus 35 Keynotes in three show theatres (including the new Coffee Shop Keynote Theatre).

To see a preview of new product launches, visit www.lunchshow.co.uk/launching-at-lunch-uks-biggest-food-to-go-showcase-previews-new-product-launches.

To register free in advance, please visit www.lunchshow.co.uk and quote priority code LU22 (direct link: https://eventdata.uk/Forms/Default.aspx?FormRef=Lun99Visitor&PageNo=20&TrackingCode=LU22).

About the author

Amy